Yesterday, I managed to
make some waves by sharing a rather scandalous photo. Given the nature of the
picture, who I am, and whose I am, I owe you an explanation.
Now, since not everyone
who could read this knows me personally, I'll include the link below. For those
weary of clicking on a scandalous picture, for whatever reason, I’ll give you a
description: The picture is of a young woman in a skirt, with no top covering
except flesh-colored tape covering her nipples. On her body is written
"still not asking for it." It was taken at some sort of anti-rape
rally, and the message is pretty straightforward: no means no. A woman isn't
"asking for it" because of how she dresses or anything else. Rape is
rape and wouldn't be justified even if a woman was walking around
topless. This message was further emphasized in the caption, recounting a
profanity-laced but nonetheless apt defense of this position against an anonymous
internet poster. I will say, in my opinion it kinda looked ridiculous. But,
ridiculous or not, it is still a (mostly) topless woman, and that is a pretty
provocative image in American culture.
Why would a devout
Christian like myself, whose blog is devoted mostly to Christian theology and
living, post something like that for all to see on Facebook (and then reference
it here)? The short answer: because I agree with the message, and while most
people I know would probably never rape anyone under any circumstances, it's a
message that many need to hear nonetheless.
